Experience matters

DiNardo's background serving him well on TV

DiNardo's background serving him well on TV

September 23, 2008|AL LESAR

When Gerry DiNardo analyzes a situation in college football, it comes from an educated perspective. He's been a player -- an offensive lineman at Notre Dame (1972-74). He's been a coach -- an assistant at Colorado for nine years with head coaching stops at Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana. Now a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network, DiNardo calls on his wealth of experience. "When I say something, there's a reason for saying it," the 55-year-old DiNardo said. "It may be debatable, but there will be reasons one, two, three." DiNardo made strides at Vanderbilt (taking over in 1991), winning as many games his first year (five) as the three previous years combined. At LSU, he ended six years of losing with taking the helm in 1995 and endured three different university presidents and three different athletic directors in his three years (2002-04) at IU. "At LSU, they understood football," said DiNardo, whose name was changed to DiNardeaux by the Cajuns. "They were passionate about the game. "IU was much different. The passion and the culture was about basketball. It was hard to get a sense of direction. You can't compare the two." It's hard to compare his television job with that of a coach. "There's no relationship with the players, which was important for me," DiNardo said. "I'm not among the young people. I'm not involved with the educational process. This is certainly a different level of college football. "The best part was watching a player go from 18 (years old) to 22. From a freshman to a senior, seeing the change and knowing you were a part of it -- that was the best part." DiNardo learned from unique personalities in the coaching business -- Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, when he was a player, and for nine years as an assistant to Bill McCartney at Colorado. "Early on, Ara would tell the team: Don't buy into all the positive things that are being said about you, because human nature says later you'll hear something bad about you," said DiNardo, who still doesn't put much stock in public scrutiny. "Bill McCartney was always honest with the media and honest with the team," DiNardo said. "Sometimes he was impulsive, and that didn't serve himself well. I've learned you have to gather yourself during the tough times." DiNardo is able to put more than three decades of immersion in college football into the opinions he has on: -The perceived downturn of the Big Ten: "All conferences have their better periods of time. The (league's) top four or five teams may not have gone into the season as strong as they've been for years. "Ohio State has struggled, but clearly has more talent. We have to wait and see how good Penn State and Wisconsin end up being. -The Big Ten Network's deal with Comcast: "There's no question the visibility has dramatically increased. We were all pretty excited over it." -The dangers for a coach on the sideline (a la Charlie Weis): "I never got run over, but the sideline is a dangerous place. My head was always on a swivel." Now, he's not going to get blindsided on the television set.